Finding Nimmo: The long road one Mets prospect has taken to Binghamton

By
Travis Eldridge

July 16, 2014Updated Jul 16, 2014 at 6:09 PM EST

Binghamton, NY (WBNG Binghamton) Binghamton Mets outfielder Brandon Nimmo's Twitter account, @You_Found_Nimmo, plays off the popular Disney Movie. Judging by his 12.8 thousand followers, plenty of people have found the Mets prospect without any trouble. But it wasn't always that way.

Nimmo's journey to Double-A comes via a road that hasn't been traveled by many.

"Coming from Wyoming there's only 500,000 people in the whole state," said Nimmo. "There's about that in a square mile in Brooklyn."

He doesn't exactly come from a breeding ground of professional athletes, especially not for baseball players.

"It's good motivation, just trying to prove that good stuff can come out of Wyoming for sports," he said. "You know, you normally don't hear a lot about baseball in Wyoming."

In 2011 he became the only player from the state to ever be picked in the first round of the MLB Draft. It was a long shot, considering what it's like to play baseball in Wyoming.

"If you have to play in the snow, if you have to play in the cold, and you have to travel four, five or six hours, you better love it or you're not going to stay with the game," his Dad, Ronald, explained.

On top of that there's no high school baseball in Wyoming. It's one of only three states where that's the case.

In order for the Mets to scout him, they attended Legion games, all-star events and as Brandon explains, they had to check their facts a few extra times.

"It changed things because people were a little skeptical," said Nimmo. "But I think once they came out and watched me play a few times and got to talk to me and everything most people weren't too hesitant anymore."

But it was a journey that wasn't only taxing on the scouts.

"Their games are three or four hour road trips, they're not 15 minutes across town or 30 minutes or an hour to the next town," said Ronald. "The closest competition sometimes is three or four hours on a bus, so it's little different in that regard."

It forced Brandon to hone his skills in some different ways. But they're things he credits to making him a player is his today. He’s a player who is now ranked as one of the top 50 prospects in the minor leagues.

"For me, I think it was great that I didn't play all year round because I got to play football, I did indoor track, and I got to work on other aspects of my game," said Brandon. "I think those helped me in baseball now."

He even did some rodeo, because as he puts it he's just a regular kid who grew up in Wyoming.

The only difference is he's hoping to trade those cold, dark bus rides for the bright lights and summer nights at Citi Field.